The human history o this oasis stairtit durin the Pleistocene, when nomadic tribes settled sometime thare, in a time when the Sahara climate wis wetter an whaur humans coud hae access tae lakes an mairshes. But aboot 6 000 years ago, the entire Sahara became drier, chyngin progressively intae a hyper-arid desert (wi less nor 50 mm o rain per year). Housomeivver, specialists think that nomadic hunter-gatherers began tae settle awmaist permanently in the oasis of Dakhleh in the period o the Holocene (aboot 12 000 years ago), during new, but rare episodes of wetter times.

In fact, the drier climate didna mean that thare wis nae mair watter in what is nou kent as the Wastren Desert. The sooth o the Libyan Desert haes the maist important supply o subterranean watter in the warld, an the first indwallers o the Dakhla Oasis haed access tae surface watter soorces.

The first European traveller tae find the Dakhla Oasis wis Sir Archibald Edmonstone, in the year 1819.[1] He wis succeedit bi several ither early travellers, but it wis no till 1908 that the first Egyptologist, Herbert Winlock, visitit Dakhla Oasis an notit its monuments in some seestematic manner.[1] In the 1950s, detailed studies began, first bi Dr. Ahmed Fakhry, an in the late 1970s, an expedeetion o the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale an the Dakhla Oasis Project each began detailed studies in the oasis.[1]

The Dakhleh Oasis Project (DOP) is a lang-term study project o the Dakhleh Oasis an the surroondin palaeoasis, initiatit in 1978 when the Royal Ontario Museum an the Canadian Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities wur awardit a jynt concession for pairt o the Oasis.[3] In 1979, the Centre for Archaeology an Auncient History at Monash University began tae cooperate in the project.[1]

In addition, excavations are undertaken at Amheida unner the direction of Roger S. Bagnall. Thir war oreeginally conducted unner the auspices of Columbia University, but are currently conducted for New York University.[11]